Reading roundup

[hamsterwoman]

40. Olga Gromyko, Vernye Vragi (Faithful Enemies) -- I started reading my Gromyko backlog after finishing Kosmobioluhi, and this was very enjoyable, but not as much fun as KB, even though it's probably the better book.

Comments

[aome]

I saw Openly Straight at B&N awhile back, and gave it some consideration, but didn't get it. I've skipped your spoilers, but it looks like you enjoyed it overall, so that's good. Alas, doesn't look like our library has it.

Btw, speaking of books and other things, is there anything in particular the rodents might like for New Year's?

[hamsterwoman]

Yep, I enjoyed Openly Straight -- a good YA read, and I liked the first-person POV style with one exception (there are notes from the protagonist's teacher that I didn't enjoy as much) that didn't intrude too much. (L also read it, btw, and thought the theme was weird. In any case, I enjoyed it more than she did, it would appear.)

I was just thinking about holiday presents for Two and MiniPlu, too, so, same question back to you :) Also, since her birthday is coming up, too, is Two still into spy stuff? are penguins still in favor?

L has been regretting not buying My Summer of Pink & Green at her school book fair. She also enjoyed Grave Mercy (she read it before I did -- I'm still reading), so may enjoy the sequel, too. And O is still loving the Rangers Apprentice books (#9 is the next one he hasn't read). They also seem to be both going through a Harry Potter revival, and Hunger Games and the Hobbit are all over again because of the new movies, so if there is franchise stuff (action figures or whatever for O -- he has Thorin and

[aome]

Ok, will look into My Summer of Pink & Green for L, and/or Dark Triumph. RA #9 for O, check. I'll look and see what's around at Toys R Us as far as action figures - I like having the kids with me so they can help pick out items, but I hesitate to take Two into Toys R Us because then he'll (I'm working on pronouns) find about a billion other things that HE wants for Christmas/bday, and I've already got a good grip on my list. :P But, we'll all go together, I'm sure, because it would seem mean not to. And I'm sure N will cheerfully pick out good stuff at Claire's or somewhere similar. (Any particular shades of nail polish L's currently lacking or, conversely, already has a lot of?) For hair things, does she like headbands? Bows? (and by "bows" I mean those circular ribbon things) Barrettes? Bun clips

[hamsterwoman]

I looked at L's box o' nail polishes, and it looks like all colors are decently represented. She was talking about nail art the other day, though -- nail art pens and/or stickers, so that may be a good idea for her, too :) The shades she has a lot of are light blues and all manner of greens (well, the greens are mine, but there's enough of it for all her needs).

For hair things, she does like headbands (both the soft fabric kind and the hard plastic/metal "backbone" kind) and is always running out of them for various reasons. She hasn't worn barettes lately, since her bangs have grown out, so maybe not that, and bun clips don't seem to hold in her hair. But she has been wearing her hair in ponytail a lot for PE (and out of general laziness), so ponytail holders / scrunchies would likely get a lot of use, too.

If they're going through an HP revival, do you think they might like that?Yes, I think they would! And O has been bugging me for a pack of novelty playing cards, actually, saying the deck they play with is getting worn and

[aome]

I had absolutely NO success in finding good action figures for any of those fandoms; there was some mostly girly Hunger Games stuff on clearance at the toy store, but nothing that really appealed. At B&N I found a bookmark/pen set for Hobbit with Thorin (bkmark) and the key to the cave (the pen), which I bought, but there was nothing for HG. I also got O both 9 and 10 for Ranger's Apprentice. For L we got the pink/green book she wanted, a set of earrings and two headbands. (O got more books and less stuff; L got the reverse.) Nothing was really that expensive, so I'll get the HP playing cards in the next couple of days.

And don't get me wrong - if you DO get Two a stuffed animal, he'll be ECSTATIC. Especially for penguins. So ... I take back my restriction. It's not like Two's not going to get more stuffed animals elsewhere, anyway. ;) (And one of the non-penguin things he wants eventually - ie if you have trouble getting other things on the list and want another alternative - is this (overpriced) moon plushMiniPlu spotted

[hamsterwoman]

No worries about action figures -- he loves them, but I feel like O has plenty. He will be very happy with the Ranger books and small stuff like the cards. And what you have for L sounds perfect, too.

I think I'm going to try for Holes, and Small Steps and/or a different Sachar book (they're all out in paperback, so) -- I took a poll with the rodents, and the three of us unanimously agreed on The Boy Who Lost His Face being our favorite, so I'm thinking that one if not Small Steps? (Or I can do Small Steps and the second book

BTW, Amazon helpfully reminded me that there's a (very decent -- the rodents and I liked it) Holes movie, too. You think MiniPlu would be interested? (maybe not for the holidays, 'cos I'm ending up with way more ideas for MiniPlu than for Two, but at some point in the future, like for her birthday? Assuming I can remember things that far away... XD

[aome]

Two does sometimes build with Legos (we have a neutral set with the basic bricks, not specialized kits that make any particular thing) but doesn't really know much about the Ninjago universe. (And definitely nothing about the Hero Factory.) So ... I'm not sure? Maybe?

When I was doing some research into the robotics stuff, I came across a product called Zoob - seems to be another one of those open-ended building products, in which to make vehicles and other things. The price range varies widely depending on the set, might be more than you want to spend.

For later consideration: Do you have a Five Below store near you? (Not sure their national distribution.) Anyway, they carry the Ty "beanie ballz" - stuffed animals in ball shape, like this penguin (which Two has). Two spotted one that looks like a yellow smilie - I *think* it was at Five Below - and he really wants one. (The biofeedback specialist has a smilie pillow, which Two took to immediately.) Online, it seems to be harder to find the little one, ~5" diameter - not

[hamsterwoman]

OK, I think I found the smilie on Amazon (it's adorable!), so I think I'll bundle that with the Robotics book and a spy-y activity book I found for the holiday present and go with the moon plushie and a spy gear thing for his birthday.

And for MiniPlu, Holes and The Boy Who Lost His Face (it looks like Small Steps is aimed at a slightly older age group, so maybe wait for her birthday or so), and Claire's swag. (Good point on the movie! It's sitting in my Amazon "save for later" cart, so hopefully that will remind me if nothing else will :)

And thank you for the answer re: dates -- I will probably just aim to mail things when you're almost due to return, and that way it should get to you both in time and while you're already back.